IT was supposed to be a memorable weekend for 16 friends who had not seen each other in more than 15 years. But what started out as an exciting getaway at a Portland villa on Sunday, August 14, quickly turned into a nightmare.

“We all went to the same high school [in Kingston] and after over 15 years of not seeing each other we decided to do a reunion. It started off wonderful; we were all having a good time. We were just thrilled to see each other,” a victim and spokesperson for the women told the

Jamaica Observer in a chilling interview recently.

The 33-year-old victim was one of three women in the group who were robbed and sexually assaulted when three armed men entered the villa in which they were staying.

“We had a dinner in the night, [after] we sat and chit chat and just talked about things we wanted to put in place in terms of giving back to our school. After that we went to bed but, based on capacity, we were sectioned into different villas. The villa that I was in had six of us,” she explained.

The woman said the six went to bed shortly after the dinner but were jolted from their sleep by the men who demanded cash.

“Somebody stood up over me and told me ‘give me all of the money’. I opened my eyes but thought to myself maybe I was dreaming, so I closed back my eyes. The person pushed me and said ‘get up, get up, weh di money; weh di money?’

“By this time I’m sitting up and looking at my best friend. She was already up and the man was ordering her to empty her things. They had machetes and knives. One of the girls mentioned that one had a gun. He turned to the other man and said, ‘tie her up and put her in the closet’. Then he asked me, ‘where is the money’? I said to him, ‘I don’t have any money; I don’t know what you guys are talking about’,” she said.

The victim recalled that one of the men inquired where the group was from and was visibly disappointed when she said Kingston and not overseas as he was led to believe by an accomplice.

“He said to me, ‘you believe in God?’ I said to him ‘Yes’. Then he said, ‘Wi naah go kill unuh enuh; wi just come fi di money and di phone dem’,” she said.

The mother of one explained that after they had finished binding their hands and feet, three of the six victims were forced into a closet while the remaining three were assaulted.

“He proceeded to take a condom from the nightstand and, of course, in our mind, that is very odd. None of us checked the nightstand, to be quite honest, so we wouldn’t have known if it was there before. But he did, and proceeded to rape us. He had sex with all three who were not in the closet,” the woman, who struggled to recount the ordeal, told the

Observer.

“Afterwards, he left with one of the young ladies who was sitting next to me and told the man to put me in the closet. The other girl, they just left her there after she was beaten repeatedly because she kept crying.

“After a while I did not hear anything, so I began to loosen my hands and tried to crack the door but we were blocked in. Eventually I heard a whisper and realised that it was another girl from one of the other villas. Apparently they had tied her up in her room but because she was [sick] they left her there.

“She had realised that they were gone and she came and pulled us and one of us went to find help. The police were called and we were escorted down to the Port Antonio Police Station,” she added.

The woman said brief statements were taken from them before they were transported to hospital.

She said a report was also made to the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse as well as the Jamaica Tourist Board. The US Embassy also made checks as the spokesperson, along with three of the other victims, are naturalised US citizens.

She said that she does not believe the perpetrators will be brought to justice as the matter has so far been poorly handled by law enforcement officers. She explained that the police did not ask for a description of the men, neither did they make any attempt to comb the area immediately after the incident.

“I’m not naïve to the fact that chances are it’s going to be brushed under the table. To say I have the grandest confidence, I have none whatsoever. For me it goes beyond concern whether justice is being done or not to simply saying you cannot have a villa where people come to visit Jamaica and they go through things like this,” she insisted.

“The sign is there for 24-hour security at the villa but the interesting part is that the police asked for the surveillance (camera) and there was none. The tourist board is aware, so it’s kind of puzzling that it’s still business as usual at the place,” she said.

“It was supposed to be fun, but it turned into something else. Nobody can get me to go back to Portland. I’m struggling to understand what happened, to come to terms. I am struggling, I haven’t slept. I just want to be normal. I can’t explain it. I don’t feel safe. My mind won’t let me feel safe. I go back and forth; what could I have done differently? If we had fought, would we be killed? What could I have done differently? How can something that was supposed to be a relaxing getaway become so terrible? I’m not sure I can come back to Jamaica,” she said.

The victims, meanwhile, have threatened to file a lawsuit against the owners of the villa.

“The case is still under police investigation, but I think the troubling part for all of the ladies affected is the fact that after going through such a tragic situation the villa remains open,” said the spokesperson.

Yesterday, Superintendent Oberlene Smith-Whyte who is based in Port Antonio, confirmed the incident and described it as unfortunate.

“Yes, the incident happened, and yes, it was a class reunion. Some people came, they were Jamaicans and they were also from overseas. At about 3:00 am three men entered with knives and machetes and they raped three of the women and fondled one. What happened is very unfortunate,” she said.

Asked to address the victim’s concern about the villa remaining open, Smith-Whyte said: “The incident did not lead us directly to investigate the villa for misappropriation or something illegal. We have to do our investigation. But I can’t say that the villa should not be operating because of what happened. And it remaining open would rest on the statement that they gave.”

Responding to the victim’s claim that the police did not make an attempt to comb the area immediately after the incident, Superintendent Smith-Whyte said: “My team went afterwards and combed the area the following day. Their response would depend on what was reported.”

Asked for an update on the investigation, Smith-Whyte said “a sketch was done on one of the men, based on the description given, so we’re going to pick up that sketch on Friday for circulation. So we are well on the way with the investigation despite what the victim may think or feel.”

Added Smith-Whyte: “We do everything possible to assist victims or otherwise, and I have very professional people working with and I have no apology about that.”